Go Between
by LadyOfGlass
Summary: While locked up in a certain Elven King's dungeons, Fili tries to strike up a conversation (purely on his brother's behalf, before you get any ideas) with a certain elf - Tauriel. Fili's POV.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So, a while back I promised I wouldn't write about the Heirs of Durin anymore, because everyone else was. Well, I lied. I can't help it. It might be some sort of disease. The 'Write About Fili' disease. And I can't help it. It's fun.**

** So here's a little story about Fili's time in Thranduil's dungeons, when they get to Mirkwood. So, I suppose it might be a spolier if you don't know that happens. And, I know that it's Bilbo who saves the dwarves from the spiders, but from the look of the promotional material, it'll be the elves who do it in the film.**

**One more thing; while rereading my other stories I almost fainted to see how many typos I let through. Sorry. I was watching King Kong while I was writing most of 'em, and therefore probably missed quite a few words. Professional, eh? I'll try harder.  
**

As cells go, I suppose it wasn't a bad one, as such. Not too grimy, but a bit on the dark side, with no windows and a single door that consisted largely of very solid looking iron bars. There were no rats either, which was a pity, because I was getting rather hungry.

The elves _did_bring me food, which I suppose was decent of them, but it consisted mainly or that wretched leafy stuff that they apparently ate by the cartload. Unless they just kept it to serve to any unwelcome visitors, as a sort of subtle but effective torture.

And they had rescued us from the spiders. On the whole, if they hadn't locked us all up in separate cells shortly afterwards, I might even have been feeling grateful. I hadn't a clue where the others were, and I wasn't even sure how long I'd been imprisoned.

I sat with my back to the stones of the wall, tapping my fingers on my knees and beginning to feel very bored. Which was probably the idea behind locking us up in the first place.

I started to sing the first thing that came into my head, partly to try and stop myself from swiftly going insane, and partly to annoy my captors.

"Blunt the knives, bend the forks, smash the bottles and burn the corks..."

"Psst. Fili, is that you?"

I stopped singing abruptly, which was just as well, because I'd forgotten the words of the second verse.

_Kili?_

I pressed myself the iron bars of the door and, twisting my neck at an awkward angle, could just make out the shadowy form of my younger brother, apparently locked up seven cells away from me.

"Kili!" I hissed, never having felt happier to see anyone before in my life, but deciding to switch to dwarvish, if only for the sake of preventing any guards that might be nearby from understanding me "How are you?"

"Good," he replied, and I could see his face split into that always-ready grin of his "You?"

"Oh, fine, fine. In fact, if it wasn't for these bars, here, I'd be feeling quite cheerful."

"Fili, you speak a bit of elvish, right?"

I stared at him. Well, it was more of a squint, because of the dimness of the dungeons, but I managed to make it a pretty incredulous one, anyway.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I want you to ask the Captain of the Guard something for me."

I twisted my neck in the other direction and could just see the red-haired elf in question, standing on guard, straight backed and slender, at the end of the passage.

"If you want a linguist, Ori's your dwarf," I said, choosing not ask if Kili had gone completely mad "Anyway, she must speak Westron. Ask her yourself."

"I tried that last night, but she didn't say anything. Maybe she didn't understand me."

I couldn't for the life of me imagine where this was all going. But, Kili and I certainly didn't seem to be going anywhere for a while, which meant that he'd be free to nag me as much as he liked if I refused.

"Fine. What do you want me to say?"

"Ask her what her name is."

I snorted in disbelief. Of all the crack brained questions...

But I had nothing to lose by asking for him.

"Hello..." I called out, in elvish, before faltering as I tried to decide how to address the Captain. I settled on 'fair maiden' which wasn't ideal, but would have to do.

She ignored me completely, not even turning around or acknowledging that I'd spoken.

Hah! That's elves for you...

But I'd have to get her attention somehow, and I wracked my brains for the best way to do this. I could insult her, which would almost certainly get a reaction, but probably not the ideal kind of reaction.

"Hey!" I yelled, as loudly as I could "I'm ready to talk! I'll tell you why we came here!"

Well, that certainly got the Captain's attention. In a flash of red hair and pale skin, she was suddenly standing in front of my cell, looking down at me with utter disdain. I recognized the look in her eyes easily enough - I'd seen it in Thorin's face whenever he mentioned elves. It wasn't that this particular elf disliked dwarves, she really hated them.

"I've changed my mind," I said, cheerfully, treating her to my best ingratiating smile "But, why don't you tell me your name?"

The Captain looked down her nose at me in a way that made me wonder if it was a skill that she and all the other elves practiced regularly.

"If you do not wish to talk," she said, in elvish that was much better than mine "Then I will leave you in peace, dwarf, to contemplate your situation."

Very nice. Very warm. It was no wonder that elves had a reputation for being a warm and kind race. Something about the unpleasant way she said 'dwarf', annoyed me. You could just tell that she was dying to say 'dwarf-scum'.

"Hold on," I said, now determined to find out her name more out of a desire not to admit defeat than anything else "Maybe I can help you."

"You? Help me?"

"That's what I said," I replied, trying very hard to remain friendly "But talking in elvish gives me a headache. Can we switch to Westron?"

She hesitated, then nodded slightly.

"If you wish. Now, explain."

"Well," I began, trying to sound as if I wasn't doing a bit of desperate invention "I bet you've got all your men combing the woods for the rest of us, right?"

The elf pressed her lips tightly together, as if to signal that she wasn't going to let anything slip, but I could tell from the way that her eyes widened slightly that I was right.

"How many have you found?"

There was once more a slight pause, and I could see that the Captain was debating whether or not to answer my question.

"We found twelve more of your kind in the forest," she said at last "Are there anymore?"

I struggled to get over my disappointment. I hadn't known that they'd got Thorin, too. But not the burglar, by the looks of it. Well, as long as one of us made it out of this wretched forest...

"No more," I said, deciding that even though Bilbo was one of the Company, he wasn't a dwarf and therefore the elf's question couldn't apply to him.

"And you expect me to trust you?"

'"Look, if you find anymore dwarves in your forest, you can execute me in a nasty, painful way, if you like. Trust me, you can call your guards off and put them to work doing more useful tasks. Like cleaning up this place. I mean, it's filthy! It's just like a dungeon in here!"

Well, these last few comments might have crossed the line and headed into sheer impudence territory, but the elf didn't seem to mind. She was already turning and striding off down the corridor, obviously intending to go find an underling that she could order to spread the news.

"Wait!" I called, and had the satisfaction of seeing her stop and turn around, this time "What's your name?"

The Captain looked at me, her grey eyes cold and thoughtful, and I couldn't stop myself from flinching back a little. Which was highly embarrassing. I hoped that Kili couldn't see me, from his cell.

"My name," the elf said "Is Tauriel."

I sat down on my cell's floor and waited until I heard Tauriel's footsteps recede into the distance, before twisting my head and shoulders part way through the iron bars on the door, to try and get a better look at Kili.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, trying to make out his face in the gloom.

"Yes," said Kili, sounding oddly strained.

I waited for a minute or two, but he didn't seem likely to explain of his own accord, so I decided that a bit of gentle prodding was needed.

"Now, tell me what on Middle-Earth that was all about," I demanded.

"Fili," began Kili "I think I'm in love with her."

"Sorry, my dwarvish seems to be a bit rusty. _What did you just say?_"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: thanks to all who reviewed or favorited :)**

**About the promo stuff: I'm inferring most of this, but since the lego sets show Legolas and Tauriel saving the dwarves, I assume that that's how it will run in the film. Sadly...**

The next morning, I was awoken by a surprisingly polite tapping on the bars of my lovely little cell. I blinked stupidly for a few moments, then looked up to see Tauriel standing there in the passage, holding a platter of food.

"Good morning," I said, sleepily, while levering myself into a sitting position "No need to stand on ceremony - pull up a patch of floor, and sit yourself down. To what do I owe this honor?"

Tauriel didn't smile - not that I'd been expecting her to, but she unlocked the door and stepped inside, all the while watching me warily. That wasn't really necessary, though. I didn't intend to try anything - what would be the point?

"Here," she said, holding the food out "I thought you might want this."

I took the platter with what I considered a gracious nod, and examined the meal tentatively. Well, it was mainly greens, but there was a bit of meat, and it was in general better stuff than I'd gotten before.

"I take it this is a reward?" I asked, eyeing a couple of leaves of what might be lettuce with apprehension.

"To encourage you, and to show you that by giving me information, you are doing the best thing," said Tauriel, and she almost managed to make it sound true.

"Right," I said, looking longingly at the piece of meat, but conquering my greed "Take all this, then, and give it to my b - to the dwarf you've got locked up just down there. I'm not hungry."

Well, it turns out that elves aren't unshockable at all, and Tauriel's face registered definite surprise.

Hmmm...

"Are you sure?" she asked, taking the platter back, almost reluctantly.

"Absolutely sure," I said, while my stomach rumbled in a traitorous fashion "But while we're on the subject of my friend, there's something I need to ask you."

Tauriel nodded, and looked at me expectantly, while I tried to steel myself to speak. The previous night, after his confession, Kili had, ignoring my violent yells of disbelief, asked me for a further favor.

"Can you chop off a bit of your hair and give it to him?" I asked, and then winced.

Yes, it sounded even stupider when I said it out loud...

"What?" Tauriel said, and for once her voice wasn't fair and musical, it was full of confusion.

"He's - and you must understand that it's torture for me to say this - he's in love with you."

Tauriel's mouth fell open and she gawped at me. I hadn't even known that elves were capable of true gawping, but she managed it.

"In love?" she repeated.

"Yes," I said, grimly "So - what about a bit of your hair?"

"No!" she snapped, her hands flying to her hair as if to make sure that it was all still there "No! He must be mad."

"It's definitely a possibility."

"Well, you can tell your friend that he can just," began Tauriel, before stopping herself, and taking a deep, calming breath "Your companion's mind has evidently been affected by his imprisonment. I suggest that you drop the subject."

Very elaborately phrased, but the message was clearly 'If you don't shut up about this, I'll cut your arms off, dwarf-scum.'

"Fair enough," I said, more than willing to drop the subject, but also keen to find out more about the fates of the other dwarves "I've been meaning to ask - do you sing? I'll bet that you have a very fine voice."

Alright, fine, it was about as obvious as flattery can get, but Tauriel actually seemed complemented, and even smiled a little.

"I am told that I have a talent for music," she said, before her face turned hard and cold again "But what would a dwarf know of that?"

This last comment was so wonderfully ridiculous that I couldn't stop myself from chuckling a little.

"Have you actually met any dwarves before?" I asked, grinning "No one can match us when it comes to singing, or playing music."

Tauriel fell back on her elvish talent for being taciturn, and merely raised her eyebrows in a way that said 'Go on.'

"Listen," I said, casting about for a good song, and finally settling on one of Bofur's favorites "There is an inn; a merry old inn/Beneath an old grey hill..."

It wasn't much of a performance, and I wished that I had my fiddle there with me, or even a drum or something, to round it off, but Tauriel looked a little less stern.

"Who taught you that?" she asked, and I could tell from her sudden look of concentration that she was making note of the words.

"My friend, Bofur," I said "And before you ask, he's not the one who's professing undying love for you, though I'm sure you've got him somewhere down here."

"The one with the flute?"

"Yes," I said, a bit surprised "You didn't take it off him, did you?"

"Of course we did," said Tauriel, shrugging slightly "We were told to take everything from you before we locked you all up."

"You took away his flute?" I said, practically lost for words "Bofur's flute? Do you know how long he's had it for? Anyway, what was he going to do with it? Pick the lock on the door?"

Tauriel had the decency to look a little embarrassed, but she shook her head.

"Orders are orders. I'm sorry," she said, and she actually sounded just a bit sorry, too.

"That's nonsense!" I exclaimed, forgetting to be polite "Give it back to him. Please."

"I will see what I can do," said Tauriel, after a slight pause "If you tell me your name, that is."

I hesitated for a moment, trying to decide what was the best thing to say. Fili was not my true 'inner name' of course, but it was what I was known by, and if any of the elves discovered that I was Thorin Oakenshield's nephew and heir, things might get...

...a tad complicated.

"My name is Gisli," I said, picking a name at random "Son of Leif. At your service."

"I doubt that I'll need it," said Tauriel, but the corners of her mouth twitched a little.

She turned and pushed the cell door open, stepping out, quickly, swinging it prudently shut behind her.

"I will see that your musical friend gets his flute back," she said, looking back at me through the bars "And that your...ill-advisedly amorous friend gets his breakfast."

And then, with uncanny speed, she was gone. I sat still for a moment, running through our conversation in my mind, and then put my head in my hands.

Kili's abnormal feelings for Tauriel, and Tauriel's all around odd elfishness...

I was starting to very seriously consider an escape attempt.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: So here is the last chapter. I hope you like it, and thanks for the reviews, lads :)**

The following day, things got, if possible, even worse.

"Look," I hissed, shooting Kili a Thorin-ish glare through the bars of my cells' door "I don't care how nervous you are about talking to her. I've already embarrassed myself enough for your sake."

"Please, Fili. Please, I'll never ask you for anything else, as long as I live."

"Yes, and if Tauriel takes this the wrong way, that won't be very long at all."

"I'll give you everything I own. Everything."

"That won't do me any good if I die of shame before we get out of here..."

Kili pressed himself against the bars of his own cell, so that I could see his desperate expression.

"Please, Fili," he said, looking aggravatingly pathetic and wide-eyed.

I groaned, and felt the urge to tear my hair, but it was all over, really. Even Thorin tended to waver when Kili presented him with his most tragic, devastated expression.

"Fine. Fine, I'll do it."

And so, when Tauriel arrived at my cell door with a platter of food in her hands, and to my surprise, a strange, stringed instrument tucked under one arm, I was ready and waiting for her.

"Hello, Tauriel," I said, politely, taking a slice of what I assumed was roast pheasant from the platter as soon as she entered "You can divide the rest between my friend down the hall, Bofur, and Ori."

"The young one with all the knitted clothes?"

"That would be Ori, yes," I said.

I wanted to ask her to bring Thorin some, if not all of the extra food, but I somehow doubted that the Elven King would even be willing to consider this.

Tauriel held out the instrument that she'd brought, and which looked like the offspring of a harp and a fiddle.

"I thought that you might want to play some music," she said, and she knelt down for the first time, so that I wouldn't have to crane my neck to see her face "And that I might teach you to play the - how would you say it in Westron? - Mushroom Harp? Is that right?"

"Probably not, but it's a good name."

I felt a pang of guilt - Tauriel had lost her contemptuous attitude and our conversations were veering from 'grudgingly respectful', to 'friendly'. And the Mirkwood elves had abandoned us in our hour of need, which wasn't an act that you could forgive easily, if at all.

Tauriel was cold and haughty, but she was basically a decent sort.

Elves were our natural enemies - I'd heard as much from Thorin dozens of time.

But...I could use an ally inside the Guard, and if that meant humoring Tauriel. then that's what I'd have to do. And trying to get her in as good a mood as possible before I delivered Kili's message might be a clever idea, too.

So, I held the Mushroom Harp awkwardly, and allowed her to correct my fingering.

Tauriel patiently taught me how to play a few notes, and as a sort of reqard I gave her a few stanzas of 'Misty Mountains Cold'.

At last I set aside the instrument, and cleared my throat, just a little nervously.

"Ah, Tauriel?"

"Yes, Gisli?"

"My friend, the one who, ah, feels for you, gave me an, um, message..."

I saw Tauriel press her lips together, as if preparing for the worst, and knew exactly how she felt.

"Go on," she said, through gritted teeth.

"He says - and please don't kill me before I'm done telling you - that your hair is like a flowing waterfall of fire. He says that your lips are like a pair of...delicate...alluring...flower petals."

I paused at this point, to summon up the courage to continue. no self respecting dwarf would ever talk such drivel, and even though I was only repeating what my brother had earnestly whispered to me, I felt rather embarrassed.

"He says your skin is like porcelain," I said, wondering if that meant that it was really breakable "And he says that your - your," here I faltered, practically bright red with shame "Your - your _hums_ are, um, very nice, too."

Well, I was changing the wording somewhat, and I'd used _'hums_' instead of the very specific part of Tauriel's anatomy that Kili had had in mind, but I made a gesture with my hands that got the point across well enough.

Tauriel's eyebrows shot up, and her 'porcelain' skin turned a little pink. I lowered my cupped hands hastily, and coughed.

"Erm, so yes, he thinks you're a very nice looking, er, elf-maiden," I finished, quickly, and then sat back, watching her apprehensively.

Tauriel sat very still, as if she'd been carved out of stone, but after a minute or two, I saw the corners of her mouth begin to twitch.

And then she laughed. It was a sweet, musical laugh, but it was a real one - full of happiness and good-humor. She leaned forward, and before I could stop her, gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"Thank you, Gisli," Tauriel said.

I was so surprised by this that I hardly noticed her get up, collect her things, and leave the cell.

I couldn't decide whether to be flattered, or repulsed. Either way, I'd shave my beard right off before I told Thorin about any of this.

From a few feet away, I heard a creak of hinges as Tauriel stepped into Kili's cell, and I twisted my head around just in time to see Tauriel lean down and reward him in much the same way as she's rewarded me.

He, too, looked rather stunned, and we both sat in astounded silence as Tauriel headed off down the corridor, still laughing softly to herself.

The laughter echoed into silence, and then...

"Kili?"

"Yes, Fili?"

"I don't care what it takes," I said, steadily "I am never going through that again. I'm getting out of here as soon as possible. I don't care if it means - if it means climbing into a barrel and being bashed around in a - in an underground stream!"

It was, I reflected later, probably the most ironically idiotic phrase ever uttered by anyone, anywhere.

Bar one.  
**  
**_I do believe the worst is behind us._


End file.
